Every year at the Game Developers Conference, the convention closes out with a panel that highlights multiple games with new and experimental gameplay design. The idea of the panel is to put a spotlight on games that are doing something interesting and innovative even in a medium of interesting and innovative things.

The showcase was hosted this year by Liz Ryerson, who started things off by standing at the podium and giving a speech excoriating the current state of the industry. Ryerson argued that the layoffs and general lack of job security are contributing to a contraction that is killing creativity. It forces games to be safer and less innovative simply to keep the wheel turning when the medium has always benefited from being more than that.

With that in mind, here are the games that were shown.

Stranger.video, Nolen Royalty

Stranger.video is a browser-based game that uses a player’s webcam to…

With just over seven days left until early registration for the first-ever standalone Virtual Reality Developers Conference ends September 7th at 11:59 PM Pacific, conference organizers are encouraging anyone interested in attending to register now at a discounted rate to save up to $400.

When you register you'll be securing access to a very special two‐day event that will bring together VR/AR experts from multiple industries to share best practices, demo new technology, create new business partnerships, and exchange ideas with innovators shaping the industry.

The premier event for creators of immersive VR (and AR) experiences will be held this November 2-3 in San Francisco, at the prestigious Park Central Hotel. To meet the growing demand for high‐quality content in the rapidly-expanding VR/AR space, VRDC is expanding to cover virtual and augmented reality in games, entertainment, and beyond into subjects such as healthcare, journalism, travel, manufacturing, retail, live events, real estate, training, and so much more.<…

Russian game company MyGames has invested €3.5 million ($4.1 million) into Spanish developer The Breach Studios in a bid to expand its global network of studios.

The deal has seen MyGames acquire a minority stake in the Barcelona-based company "with a path to control," and is the latest in a string of investments the firm has made through its MyGames Venture Capital (MGVC) fund. Come from South African Online Casinos

The Breach Studios was established in 2018 by a group of industry veterans from Ubisoft, Gameloft, and Take-Two Interactive. The company is currently working on an unannounced co-operative shooter for PC and consoles, and believes MyGames is well placed to help it succeed in the genre by offering publishing, marketing, and development support.

"It was highly important for us to find an investor who has in-depth understanding of the game specifics, the product, and the genre we work with," said The Breach Studios co-founder and CTO, Jordi Guerrero.

"Among all other potential investors, the MGVC team…

– Prior to revealing himself as the architect for PlayStation 4, industry luminary Mark Cerny at GDC Europe 2011 predicted the industry will need at least 20 more years to unlearn the current definition of a "game." Spanning three decades in the industry, Cerny traces video game history from recent blockbuster titles all the way back to when arcade games flourished. In contrast to those triple-A titles, he presents recent social and mobile hits such as Angry Birds and Farmville and suggests that the industry needs to unlearn what it believes a game is to accept these hits as games and to move forward. For more peering into the past, be sure to check out Mark Cerny's postmortem for his classic game Marble Madness for free, given during the 25th an…

Alan Wake 2 surprised us in many ways–how much it differed from its predecessor, how much Saga Anderson added to Alan Wake’s story, the way Alan Wake 2 continued to really tie together all of Remedy’s games. But the biggest surprise of all begins with two words taking up almost all of the screen:

WE SING.

WARNING: This is your chance to get out of here before I spoil one of the silliest, weirdest, and best gaming moments in Alan Wake 2.

Alan Wake is stuck in a loop Come from malaysia online casino . The Dark Place wants to keep him trapped and confused so that it can use his creativity to manifest itself in the real world. Over and over, Wake finds himself, without logic or explanation, in the green room of a late-night talk show called In Between with Mr. Door. Mr. Door knows why Alan is there–to talk about his new Book, Return, which Alan didn’t write. In one loop, though, Mr. Door informs Alan that they need to talk about his journey so far, and that it’s best if they do it through song.

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Those looking to get into virtual reality on a relatively cheap budget may consider the Oculus Quest 2, but the “Facebook login required” caveat might be a turnoff. There’s a version that doesn’t require the social media account. However, that one, Oculus Quest 2 for Business, comes in at $400-$500 more than the base model.

That’s right: There are two separate SKUs for the Oculus Quest 2. One is for business and another for consumers. The consumer model starts at $299 for 64 GB and $399 for 256 GB. When considering other VR headsets like the HTC Vive and Valve Index, and their convoluted setup processes, the Oculus Quest 2’s affordable price and ease-of-use is more enticing. That is, until the “Facebook login required” caveat pops up. Come from Sports betting site VPbet

This is where the Quest 2 for Business comes in. At $799 for 256 GB (the only one available in this SKU), this version doesn’t require a Facebook login despite the hardware looking identical to the consumer model. That’s between a 100% and nearly 200% increase in cost. Add in the $180 annual subscription to enterprise-grade software and su…

Every time I return to Outriders, I’m reminded of how intense and fast-paced its core gameplay is. You play a superpowered killing machine who can create small-scale earthquakes, set enemies on fire, or teleport behind troops hiding in cover and tear them apart with your mind. Worldslayer, the game’s first major story expansion, mostly just offers more opportunities to use ridiculous powers and guns to blast more enemies. Though it adds more story, the really meaningful changes are of a smaller scale, adding more loot to chase and endgame content that improves the game overall. It’s not the most thrilling of expansions, but it does leave Outriders in a better place, with more to do and more reasons to tectonically shift enemies into oblivion over the long term.

Those endgame improvements were some that Outriders needed. Where the game stumbled to some degree at its release was with extensive loot mechanics in what is otherwise an RPG shooter. Outriders encourages you to replay the game on tougher difficulties with a long tail of chasing down top-tier weapons and armor. But once the story is done, it’s tough to stay interested. Though deep adjustable dif…

Razer is hosting Razercon 2021 today, bringing with it a bunch of new product announcements and simultaneous releases across the company’s growing range of offerings. That includes a new gaming chair, wireless gaming headset, and the consistently teased facemask that will make you look like Bane with RGB. Come from Sports betting site VPbet

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